1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a method of controlling an operation mode of a fuel cell during operation of a fuel cell vehicle, particularly when a stop mode of the fuel cell is extended, by taking account of durability (e.g., stack dry-out prevention, open-circuit voltage holding time reduction, etc.) of the fuel cell.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a fuel cell vehicle uses a fuel cell to produce electricity using hydrogen and oxygen, thereby powering its electric motor or charging its battery. Further, the fuel cell vehicle can also implement a regenerative braking system using a power-generation function of the electric motor.
To improve fuel efficiency of a fuel cell vehicle, an idle stop technology has been proposed in which a fuel cell stops generating electricity when the fuel cell vehicle idles. In regard to fuel cells, various methods of determining or performing stop/start of power generation have also been proposed.
However, none of these methods provides a method wherein when a fuel cell vehicle is driving, a stop mode of the fuel cell is extended.
Further, since it takes a certain amount of time for a fuel cell to form a voltage when a fuel cell vehicle is re-accelerated after being stopped, the fuel cell vehicle needs to further include both a restart method so as to improve acceleration performance during re-acceleration, and a method of avoiding frequent stopping and starting of the fuel cell.
The description regarding the related art is provided only for understanding of the background of the invention, so it should not be construed by ordinarily skilled persons in the art to be admitted to the related art.